We aren’t endorsing any candidates yet, but this column by David Beard from the Boston Globe offers some interesting insight into John McCain’s history of support for Amtrak. Or should I say, lack of support?
Archive for the 'Amtrak' Category
Running a day behind, today’s metro (Monday) attempts to illustrate just how fast our “High Speed” Rail system is. Imaging one of these suckers crossing the state to Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, and Tallahassee. Certainly makes more sense than funding more road projects…
Last year, Amtrak’s high-speed Acela Express train carried a record 593,000 passengers from Boston to New York. An Amtrak rep says Acela’s market share on the busy route grew from 36 percent in 2006 to 41 percent last year.
Follow the link for the reasons behind Acela’s recent success…
Via Overhead Wire…
Why do European business travelers have a 30-minute jump on us? Well, one reason is the amount we’re willing to invest. The U.S. Senate is proposing to spend just $11.4 billion to keep the entire nationwide Amtrak network running for the next six years. And even that level of funding is a political hot potato. When Trent Lott, the right-wing Mississippi Republican, is on the same side of a funding debate as Frank Lautenberg, the left-wing New Jersey Democrat, you know for sure that Amtrak is a party-bending, policy-warping, money-eating conundrum.
Like many on their Thanksgiving holiday, I had the arduous task of traveling in order to meet up with the family. Only this time I decided to travel to The
The train was quite comfortable with ample room for your carry on bag, your luggage and still had room to spread your legs. Also, every row of seats had its own power outlet which came in handy during the trip. During the five hour and twenty minute trip the only annoyance was the constant stop and go in the urban areas of South Florida and
I was impressed to see that the train was sold out to
Let’s just say I was glad I was able to keep my luggage with me. In such a populous state as
The last time I was in Berlin the new Hauptbahnhof was still under construction and a year or so away from the May 2006 grand opening. The Berlin Hauptbahnhof now handles over 1,800 trains and 350,000 passengers per day. This digital representation provides a good example of what Europe’s largest train station is like and the type of rail catalyst the MIC should become for our region…
As you may already know, I support bicycles. I am a huge advocate for improved bicycle infrastructure in Miami, including a comprehensive Bicycle Master Plan.
Nonetheless, I often speak to people who have concerns about using bicycling as a legitimate form of transportation, even if Miami had hundreds of miles of separated bike lanes.
Some of the more popular concerns include fear of theft, lack of secure racks, and problems with the bike’s generous proportions, particularly when on a crowded train or attempting to store it inside of a building. Fortunately, I’ve found a solution to most of these concerns: folding bikes.
The folding bicycle certainly isn’t new technology, but it’s rare I see people using these bikes and even rarer to hear people talk about them.
A couple weeks ago, I was introduced to the amazing convenience of the folding bike. I was in Brooklyn at the time, and was planning on going down to Philly for the weekend to visit some old friends. Lucky for me one of my friends allowed me to borrow their new Dahon.
After learning how to fold and unfold the bike, I packed some clothes in a backpack, and raced off through Brooklyn, over the Brooklyn Bridge, and into Lower Manhattan. I decided to test its convenience on the subway – no problem. Even fumbling at bit, it only took about one minute to fold up the bike and it was light (only like 20-25 lbs.) enough to carry right over the turnstile. The C train was relatively crowded, but I was still able to get a seat comfortably while holding the folded bike.
At Penn Station, I didn’t have to worry about maneuvering a regular sized bike through masses of people, nor having to lug it up or down stairs/escalators. I boarded Amtrak, stowed the bike in the rack above my seat, and read a book during the hour and change trip.
Upon arriving at 30th Street Station in Philly, I didn’t even have to bother with cab fare – I just unfolded the bike and road off to meet my friends about 12 or 13 blocks away. Upon arriving at my friends’ place, I folded the bike back up, walked past the doorman without any looks or objections, took the elevator with ease, and stored it in their small apartment without feeling guilty about space.
I was hooked. I just ordered a Dahon myself, and can’t hardly wait another day for it to arrive. In the meantime, let me share with you just a short list of benefits for folded bikes:
- Integrates flawlessly with all forms of transit. Instead of taking up a bunch of space on a Metrorail car, or loading and unloading a regular sized bike on the front of a bus, the folded bike is easy to carry on board
- They usually fold up in just 15-30 seconds
- Most of them fit conveniently into a duffel bag or suitcase – perfect for carry-on luggage on planes
- They take up a fraction of space in your home (especially great for smaller living spaces)
- No longer do you have to worry about them getting stolen from some random chain-up or even a rack. You probably won’t even need to buy any chains or locks in the first place
- You could even bring it into the office. Put it in a carrying bag, it stores easily
- Performance is as good as or better than regular sized bikes, depending on what model and/or brand you use
- Allows you the freedom to go just about anywhere; its convenient integration with transit is particularly beneficial
To learn more about folded bikes and their benefits, check out this great link.
Photo courtesy of joelmann’s flickr account
It’s official; France’s bullet train, the V150, set a record yesterday for fastest speed ever by a rail train. How fast, you ask? Only 357.2 MPH! For some perspective, at that speed someone could go from Miami to Jacksonville in about an hour. Only the Japanese mag-lev trains have gone faster, but they utilize different technology with much less resistance. The fastest train the U.S. has put on the table…the Amtrak’s Acela Express, which tops out about 1/3 as fast as France’s bullet train.
Check out how fast this thing whips by the folks on the overpass.
I came across a great article which addresses the ineffectiveness of our country’s passenger rail network: Amtrak. Alexander Kummant, Amtrak’s newest director, is plotting a course to expand the floundering passenger rail market. The article highlights Amtrak’s flaws while discussing the future of overseas rail which may soon be linking
Just found these above photos on a forum that I frequent. They are of the Miami Intermodal Center , which is so far, just a fairytale. What’s an intermodal center? It’s going to be Miami genius intelligence, the redesign was done in a manner which would be easy to expand the facility later if need be. However, If you look at the first picture, someone forgot to adequately shade some of the metrobus stops of the MIC. I fear this building will be riddled with defects.
There’s nothing too revolutionary about the building’s design. Similar buildings are rising in other parts of the world which will not only feature cutting edge technology, but will also be visually stimulating. Considering the hundred of millions of dollars that will be poured into this structure, I honestly expected something a little bit more grandiose. But hey, this is
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